PROJECT 「BLACKLINE」
by DigiFox0
Summary: All the Lights in the Sky are falling to the ground. Can she save them? An interpretation of Area 11's "Digital Haunt" can be enjoyed by Elevens and Non-Elevens alike. Rating subject to change. T for Dark themes


PROJECT: 「_BLACKLINE_」

Chapter 1: System;Start

"_Cassandra? Are you ready to begin?"_

A/N: So for those of you not familiar with Area 11, they're running an ARG (effectively, even that's debated -_-) called Digital Haunt and we have to try and infer what's going on through the lyrics of the songs :) This is my interpretation of that :) For you Area 11 fans out there, this is my theory of Digital Haunt (Helped out by a bunch of people. You know who you are ;D). For you non-Area 11 fans, view this as an original story :) Technically still Fanfiction though XD Regardless, enjoy :)

He was so close. He knew it. He just wasn't good enough… It kept rejecting him.

The machine powered down as some men in white coats pulled the readout devices from his forehead and disconnected his limbs from the large steel pod. Groggily, consciousness returned to him as he shook his co-workers away from his arms.

"I'm fine" He said, flatly.

"Sir, we just-"

"Shut up!" He yelled. He was prone to anger at the best of times, but now… "We were so damn close, why does it keep throwing me out?!"

"Sir, we can keep running tests" One of the men said.

The man who was just birthed from the machine looked him over.

"We're running out of time." Was all he said before walking off towards his office.

The two subordinates simply shrugged as they moved to mess with one machine or another, stepping over cables sprawled across the floor all leading up to the leviathanesque machine that their leader just stepped from.

He looked over the sheets of paper and what one would generously call "Writing" on whiteboards adorning the walls. Old journals filled with artistic writing were strewn about the place, written to calm his thoughts. Windows were bricked up so the outside world couldn't bother him. Textbooks, research, graphs and more were all over the floor. Tidy, he was not.

He was missing something. He just didn't know what.

Perhaps going right back to basics would help? He looked around for some file or another that he hadn't looked at for years. After all, he didn't need to see the brief anymore. This project _was_ his life.

The file he was looking for was jet black with stamps reading "SECRET" all over it. A thick layer of dust covered the thick cardboard. Upon the face, in embossed white letters were two words and a number.

"PROJECT 11: BLACKLINE"

Both the words and the number haunted him. He had devoted everything he was to this project. He had to make it work. He flipped open the file, with only a little hesitation. Facing one's failures is something every scientist dreads.

"PROJECT 11: BLACKLINE

STAFF LIST

Dr. [REDACTED] Callsign: 11"

That number was all he was. His name, life, personality. His entire existence was the number Eleven. _He_ was Eleven.

He moved on to a segment near the front entitled "GOALS".

"PRIME OBJECTIVE: STOP THE LIGHTS FROM FALLING"

He couldn't help but smirk at that. Scientists weren't exactly known for their poetry.

"GOALS: ENTER THE ECHOPLANE"

The Echoplane was the thing that Eleven had been researching for years. He had run music through hundreds of programs, found religious texts and even walked with madmen to hear what they thought it was and everything led him to the same conclusion.

The Echoplane was a different, separate, layer of reality. Better yet, it's the layer where God himself resides.

He had to find a way to get there and strike a deal with God.

Getting there however, was the most difficult thing he had ever undertaken. After 10 long, arduous years, he finally built the machine. He dubbed it the Echochamber (Again, another stroke of genius poetry on his part.) The Echochamber could in theory be the bridge from reality to the Echoplane.

Apparently, however, the Echoplane was fickle in who it allowed entry. Every time he, or indeed anyone else, used the Echochamber they were spat back out in minutes. A few of his team even died.

He placed the file back underneath his desk and thought, aloud "So, all I need to do is figure out what it wants"

He did that a lot. Feeling the need to compartmentalize. If he didn't, the sheer undertaking of his task would crush him. Right now he needed to focus on this one thing. He was a genius, surely he could figure it out.

Perhaps it needed one to be of a certain genetic makeup? That could explain it. However, they weren't transporting bodies to the Echoplane, just minds. What about of a certain mind-set? However, he couldn't pin that down. It wasn't concrete enough. Perhaps it was more spiritual? It was the domain of God after all.

Then he had a thought, juvenile though it might be.

"What if I treat it like Heaven?" he asked himself aloud, yet again.

To get into Heaven, in almost any religion, one has to be pure (or at least repentant of ones crimes). This… made sense. He (and everyone else in the lab) were adult human beings, of course they had sinned. Moreover, they were scientists. They had committed more injustices than most people.

Is this it then? Is this the end? If _this_ was the reason he couldn't get into the Echoplane, he could never surpass it. He couldn't get past his own sins.

"Then again…" He thought. "Maybe it doesn't have to be me…"

He needed something pure. Something innocent and free of sin. The first thing that came to mind was a child.

He needed a child.

It couldn't be just any child though. It would have to be his. He would have to raise it, to ensure it never strays.

This was worth a shot at the very least. If it didn't work, he could simply kill the child and go back to the drawing board. It would be a research tool, after all, not a person. However, he would need to find a woman to bear it. The woman he chose would have to be just as pure as the child she would give him. She would help keep it on the path. He would need to outsource this. The women in the lab weren't pure enough.

He just hoped, for her sake, that whoever he picked wouldn't let him down.

She was broken. She was worthless. And he was just like her.

They met online. She never usually used online dating, but her friend signed her up to "surprise" her. She was fairly pretty, so got a lot of attention. All of them were crass or cheesy or too good for her. However, when she saw _his_ profile everything changed. She didn't know why she was so drawn to him. His Bio had little information in it, his "Likes and Dislikes" section, for instance, was completely blank. It was his photo that sealed it. Behind his eyes was the beating soul of an artist, yearning to burst free. She had to talk to this guy.

"Hey :)" she typed tentatively on her keyboard, as if tapping too hard would smash it into pieces.

"Hello" Was the reply.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, but you seem pretty cool"

"Thanks"

"Why are you on here?"

"I'm looking for someone"

"Anyone specific? ;)"

"Kind of…"

"Oh, so you have a type?"

"It's complicated"

"Tell me about it"

"She has to be pure"

"Pure?"

"Like snow... or a dove… I can't describe it, but whatever it is, it's beautiful"

"That was like poetry 0:"

"I dabble"

"Really? :D"

"Yeah"

"Can I hear some?"

"Maybe"

"Why only 'Maybe'?"

"Are you pure enough?"

He asked questions then. Some of them pretty personal like "Are you a virgin?" She didn't care how deep he probed her though, something about him made her want to give him everything she had…

"You seem like just the girl I'm looking for"

"Really? :D"

"Yeah"

"I'm not though… I'm all broken…"

"Broken?"

"I hear things. Like voices"

"What do they say?"

"I dunno, lots of weird things"

"Tell me"

"I can't think of anything specific"

"Tell me what the voices say"

"You're upsetting me, please stop"

He began typing something before deleting it.

"Sorry"

"It's okai x"

"When do you want to meet?"

"Umm… Whenever's fine. I have like no life, so…"

"I'm usually quite busy with work"

"My friend's having a party next week? Maybe we could hang out there?"

"Sounds good"

"Great! I'll send you the details when everything's all sorted out :D"

"I have to get back to work now. It was nice talking to you"

"You too!"

And with that, the conversation ended. She was going on a date. With a guy. And actual guy. He was an artist too, maybe he could take her away from this town where nothing goes on. She had to impress him. Dear god, she had to impress him.

If only she could have seen inside his mind.

A/N: Hope that was good :/ Later chapters will be better, I swear. I had to set up concepts for non-Elevens while simultaneously being engaging enough for Elevens XD It's hard XD Anyway, let me know what you think :D


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